I understand that at Rose City Comic Con this afternoon it was made official that Stuart Schreck has joined Dark Horse in their Direct Market department. Title TK
Schreck is one of the final refugees to escape from the wreckage of Diamond Comics. He was the Purchasing Manager – Marvel Comics there from 2021 until just a few weeks ago. Prior to that he was Sales Manager at DC Comics for 21 years until he was let go in a purge of knowledgable, skilled direct market employees by misguided management.
It is fair to say that Stuart Schreck is a very popular person in the comics community. As Diamond has been whittled away day by day, many people kept asking me “Is Stuart ok?” For sure, his hiring at Dark Horse will be applauded by many. It’s win win: Dark Horse gets someone who knows the DM and retailers like the back of his hand, and a comics lover who worked hard for Diamond gets a better gig.
The above photo was snapped at SDCC 2025 and shows Stuart eyeing his escape from the weird Diamond booth that ended up being a showcase for various Ad Populum brands. However the looming Dark Horse booth behind him is a stunning augury of things to come!
Rose City Comic Con is taking place in Portland, OR this weekend, and you can still get tickets! Lots of great guests and exhibitors. And since Portland is Comics Town, a great Artist Alley.
Other Diamond escapees include the Alliance Seven – including Mike Schimmel – who joined spurned Diamond bidder Alliance Entertainment to help expand their pop culture distribution offerings, resulting in a lawsuit from Sparkle Pop. Nance Romer, the highly respected Director of Retailer Services, has been hired at Universal Distribution. And Emily Botica, formerly Vice President of Client Services at Diamond Book Distributors, has joined PRH as Director of Client Services. I’m sure I’ve missed an escapee or two….feel free to update me or the comments.
Congrats to Stuart and Dark Horse! We’re excited to have someone to talk about Airwave with at comics shows for the foreseeable future.
